Maui - 2011

Maui's "Black Rock"

I've always thought that Hawaii was a destination that would evade my travel plans.  My best friend from high school and early college years met a girl from there (Honolulu) while we were attending the University of Oregon.  They fell in love and he ended up living there - and still does as far as I know.  The allure of Hawaii has always been there.

The Summer of 2011 was supposed to be my long awaited trip to Germany to visit my Grandmother (...as was the Summer of 2012).   Those plans were derailed by various hurdles so I was left to throw a vote J and the girls - Hawaii or Alaska!  For me...Alaska was the easy choice for adventure.

True, since childhood, I aspired to be a wildlife photography in the Last Frontier - however I'm only one vote in this clan and J and the girls wanted very much to experience warm, clear water (after the awful 2010-2011 Oregon Winter and Spring....), quiet beaches and the overall Hawaiian experience.  Hawaii was the winner in 2011.  In typical fashion, we were left planning for a Maui trip in just under two weeks. I did a lot of chatting with friends who had gone there.  We decided that the northwest shore of Kaanapali Beach offered everything we wanted in this experience.

Booking this trip was easy.  I visited the Costco website where several packages were available.  A friend at work suggested the Kaanapali Beach Resort.  He had stayed there on several occasions and praised the hotel's accommodations, staff, price and especially the location.  He said that possibly the best reason to stay at this resort was the "perfect" oceanfront location and that it was near Black Rock.  Black Rock, he said, was where some of the best snorkeling in Maui was located.

Though belated, here is an account of our Maui trip in June of 2011: